only hope
by Beast Love
Summary: "Mikan..." I barely heard it. He had said it so softly like I would run away if he said it too loud. He said my name as if it were a prayer. His only meaning in life.


**A/N: **Well, the idea for this story actually came from a statue in our neighborhood called "The Sorrowful Love". It's not anything special, really. Just a statue with a certain story. Which, I guess, led me to making this story! Anyways, I'd like to thank Romantically Loveless for helping me out a bit with this story and thank you so, so, much! If you have time, go read her stories, they're amazing!

_Disclaimer__: _I do not own Gakuen Alice (sadly). It would take a million of shooting stars to grant that wish for me. I also do not own the song Only Hope by Switchfoot.

_Warning_: There is OOCness. My reasons are plain and simple, two opposites can never really get along unless they act different towards each other than they do with everyone else. I know this from experience and observing and I wanted to make this story realistic.

* * *

_**. only hope .**_

By Beast Love

_To be only yours  
I pray to be only yours _

-_Switchfoot_

* * *

"Wow, you're the last person I would expect to be here," his motorcycle boots made a loud thud as he walked down the sidewalk. I didn't have to turn around to know he had that smirk plastered on his face.

"Oh, really? I should be asking _you_ that question," I calmly stated. He would not have me irritated by his presence.

I stood in front of the marble statue, still perfect and flawless. The tragic look on their faces and the sadness it gave out. It felt as if I were a part of it, a never ending statue of sorrow. I wonder if the legend is true and if it could really happen?

"What am I doing here? Dunno, just felt like it," he shrugged, his crimson eyes in deep thought as they stared at the statue.

I could feel him stand next to me, his heat radiating onto my bare arm, his presence making my heart beat fast. I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks which I tried badly to stop. No way would I give him the satisfaction of making me blush. Not this time anyway.

Trying to lighten up the mood, I replied, "Did Hyuuga just tell me his feelings or was it just the wind?"

I turned around, leaning against the marble fence that prevented us from getting near the statue. From the corner of my eye, I watched him. His eyes lit up at my pathetic joke, a small smirk on his lips.

Hyuuga was perfect; even I admit it. The strong jaw, wide forehead, sharp eyes, aristocrat nose, tall, handsome... Too bad his personality wasn't one of a gentlemen. He was a pervert at heart, quiet, moody. A man of few words. But, whenever it was just the two of us it seemed like he couldn't stop talking and I always teased him for that. He was different.

I heard him sigh, making me reluctantly look back at his face. Whenever I saw that face my heart would beat even faster, the heat always -always- trying to escape onto my whole face. I couldn't let him know, not after all that we've been through. It would just ruin things once more.

He didn't say anything after that sigh like he usually did. Every time he sighed it meant he was troubled, leading to him asking me for help. I guess you could say I was his second conscience. I had no choice. I had to speak up because if I didn't, he wouldn't either.

"What happened this time? Did you and Luna break up again?" I struggled to say her name.

Luna Koizumi was, well, not the nicest person in the world. I knew that the first time I met her in my Algebra class. Natsume, however, tried to show me her good points. I'm not one to judge. My intuition, though, is always right. Luna was a pain in the butt and still is. She did everything she could to embarrass me, mostly in front of Natsume.

Being the good conscience I am, I stayed silent about Luna. Natsume thankfully noticed I wasn't her biggest fan and tried to keep the two of us far away as possible. That still didn't stop her from telling everyone I was a whore, who not only slept with Natsume (the God of everything), but also my best friend's boyfriend, Ruka. I honestly don't know how everyone actually believed that, considering I'm plain.

I carried on with life, just Hotaru, Ruka and I hanging out. Sometimes it would be four of us when Natsume wasn't busy being his other self. Luckily, the rumor died down, everyone figuring out that there was no possibility of Sakura being a whore. Nope, wouldn't even be believable in a drama.

Breaking my thoughts, Natsume shuffled uncomfortably, causing him to brush his shoulder against mine. I had to bite my lip down from squealing in surprise. The bad part was that the heat rushed to my cheeks. The good part was Natsume never noticed, his concentration on the green grass in front of him.

"Uh oh, silence means a bad omen. How did you guys break up this time?" my tone now soothing, trying to coax the information out of him. I may be dense, not dense enough to know something serious happened between him and Luna this time.

"Nothing bad really happened. I just ended it, in definitely... Well, more like she ended it," he winced as he remembered.

Now I just noticed the slightly red mark on his left cheek. Obviously it happened today or that mark wouldn't be there. Although I felt bad for the guy for not only breaking it off with his girlfriend and getting hit, I was jumping for joy. It felt like a great boulder was lifted from my shoulders. Yet, I couldn't say it. I couldn't show it either. It was my permanent secret.

"What made you decide that? You guys were getting along... okay..." I trailed off.

He chuckled, his deep voice only making more butterflies hatch in my stomach. "Nice way to put it. I had my reasons to break it off."

Great. Apparently, he wasn't going to tell me the details.

Natsume's red eyes gazed at the statue, my own hazel wandering to it too. For some dumb reason, we were both attracted to the statue. There was nothing really special about it, it was put there some three years ago. Ever since then, though, both of us would end up here, usually at the same time. It was what brought us back together I guess.

"Hey, remember the old times? When we were just in elementary school?" a small grin slowly appeared, "we were such idiots."

"Me? An idiot? Please, Hyuuga, you were the genius behind all the _great _plans," I mused.

Natsume and I were childhood friends. Our mothers were best friends, so that led us to constantly seeing each other. We loathed each other at first sight. He would always pull at my pigtails and I would always pull his cheeks. Somehow we ended up being the greatest friends, also the greatest troublemakers in town. I could still hear the yells of my dad as he caught us trying to escape the house at night.

"Do you still remember... middle school...?" he mumbled the last part.

I froze, my eyes refused to look at his which I bet were looking at me. Middle school was my nightmare. It was what ended what we had. It was when a dare went too out of control. A dare that not only scarred a girl's heart, but ruined a friendship. That dare was on me. A dare where Natsume had to confess to me. A dare that made a fool out of me. To this day, I can't really resent him for it. My heart just couldn't move past what I had for him and still have.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do. It's great that I made friends with Hotaru and Ruka! It was hilarious with the three of us. The three oddballs!" I forced a laugh out, plastering a big grin on.

Natsume stared at me blankly. I knew he thought I was an idiot. I knew that he knew I was pretending. The nightmares still come every once in a while. The fear of remembering that day. The pain I felt. The betrayal. The broken bond. I pushed it to the corner of my mind. _It never happened,_ is what I told myself.

"No. The dare," Natsume said it without hesitation.

His elbows were no longer propped onto the fence. He stood tall and proud, staring at me with his lively eyes. His face was serious. At that moment he scared me. At that moment my heart was quivering with fear, beating with what I kept hidden from him. Why did he have to be taller than me? Why did he have eyes that refused to break contact with mine? Why did I have to feel this way?

"Mikan..." I barely heard. He had said it so softly like I would run away if he said it too loud. He said my name as if it were a prayer. His only meaning in life. "I meant what I said that day."

I froze once more. No. No, it just couldn't be true. What was this? Cinderella? Reality only made things harder for you, not this easy. Especially when it comes to love. My hazel finally looked into his crimson, searching for any signs of a lie. Another dare.

And I just burst out laughing. I sank down to my knees, clutching my waist. Yeah, definitely a joke. Natsume Hyuuga, telling me he likes me? The world is really coming to an end. Then again, my level of insanity at the moment could be questioned too.

He glared at me, his brow twitching. "What's so funny about this!"

I managed to stop laughing, catching my breath. This was a joke. I knew that now.

"Stop kidding around, Natsume," I narrowed my eyes dangerously at him, "I'm not going to go through this again."

He stayed silent. His body was still, his eyes hardened. It hit me, then. This was no joke. No laughing matter. He was being serious. Probably even more serious than Hotaru working on one of her gadgets. I refused to believe it. I've been through enough because of him. Been through the dare. Been through humiliating myself. Been through the rumors.

"I'm not joking and you know it," he hissed.

I rolled my eyes, once more glaring at him. I even stood up to my toes so I could be at eye level to him, right in front of his face. He just doesn't get it. After all, he is Mr. Popular while I'm the Weirdo.

"Oh, come on, Hyuuga! Right now, you came to me and told me you broke up with your girlfriend and now you say you like me! Do you know how completely stupid that sounds! I'm not some girl who falls in love with a good looking guy. You of all people know that!"

"I'm not stupid, Sakura. I know very well what kind of person you are and that's the reason I like you. Hell, I might even love you, got it! Do you have any idea how many times I tried to confess to you? There was the time at the playground, the time at the graduation luncheon. But, no, I couldn't 'cause someone acted like we were only _friends_. You have any idea why I chose Luna to date of all people?"

My eyes were wide. All those time, all those times, he liked me? Ever since elementary school? I could feel myself feel guilty. However, I stopped myself. I only acted as a friend because I didn't want him to know the truth. I wasn't going to regret that I tried to maintain our friendship. If anyone was wrong, it was him. He could have confessed to me any time. Not my fault he didn't make a move since he felt intimidated. The thing about Luna, though, really made me think. Why did he pick her of all people?

"I'm guessing from the silence you have no idea," Natsume sneered. "I chose Luna 'cause I knew you would hate her from the moment you saw her. I knew she would tick you off. I chose her 'cause I tried to make you jealous. To make you show something, some possible chance, that you like me! In the end, we did end up back together again. Not the way I wanted it to, though."

His ranting stopped. God, boys can be so... stupid.

"Natsume, when dating Luna, did you figure out how to understand a woman?" I rubbed my temples with my fingers. The headache was pulsing harshly.

He looked at me confused. I took that as a no.

"Rule number something, never -and I seriously mean practically never- get a girl you like jealous. Not one little bit, got that? You know what happens when you do?" He shook his head, "You get ripped to pieces like fresh meat."

My glare became incredibly narrow. Ruka managed to snag Hotaru with hard work and being smart. He didn't try to make her jealous. Honestly, didn't he learn that from him?

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm really sorry. Can you forgive me?"

His eyes were covered by his bangs, shuffling from one foot to another. He looked pathetic. Actually, he was pathetic enough to ask for forgiveness. I really wished I had a camera on me. I mean, how many times do you get to see Natsume Hyuuga apologize?

I sighed, tired from all this.

"I'm not forgiving you that's for sure. But..." I swallowed the lump that suddenly was lodged in my throat.

"But, I-I love you, s-so I'll let it slide," I stubbornly crossed my arms over my chest as I quickly said the words.

Next thing I knew, I was tackled into a quick tight hug. Natsume removed himself from me just as quickly, a grin on his face. I swear his grin was that of a child's when they get candy. I shook my head in disbelief from what happened. I couldn't even wipe the smile from my own face. I looked up, only to notice her was staring at me in an odd way, the atmosphere suddenly tense. I licked my dry lips. Nervous. Scared. I knew what would happen next as he placed his large hands on my small shoulders gently.

My knees were turning weak. No longer was I trying to hide the red glow on my face. Or even hide the spark in my eyes every time I saw him. It was too much. It was too long. Too many chances slipped past my fingers. Too many times had he broken my fragile heart. He was my only hope to continue with life. To live life.

Natsume slowly raised his hand to stroke my hot cheek, his fingers rough and warm. I could feel him move closer to me, feeling the heat. I noticed how small I was compared to him, how the top of my head barely reached his chin. I felt his other arm move gently across my side to stay put in the middle of my back, pulling me closer to him.

He leaned down, making me feel so much weaker. If he hadn't placed his hand on my back I would have been on my knees by now. I watched his crimson eyes glide over my face, continually glancing at my lips. I knew what he wanted, and I granted him permission by leaning in on my own, letting my hands naturally slide over his toned chest to where they tied themselves around his neck.

And all the little space between us disappeared. All it was was just Mikan Sakura and Natsume Hyuuga. No one else.

I guess the statue's legend was pretty true. Both our prayers were answered. The couple kissing really did end up finding each other again, and this time they would be together forever. Happy and free of sorrow. '_Yup, it can't get any better than this.'_ I smiled, pulling Natsume closer to me.

_The End_


End file.
